While the most notable case to reach the Supreme Court during its Fall session may likely be the dispute involving the White House’s polarizing healthcare proposal, there are other cases on the court’s agenda that could have an impact on businesses including one that could affect the many private lawyers in the region representing municipalities.

The Supreme Court will hear a case involving a Rialto firefighter, Nicholas B. Delia, who sued a private attorney hired by the city to investigate if Delia was really sick when he said he was, according to the Associated Press report.

At question is whether a private attorney, in this case Steve Filarsky, can be treated with the same legal immunity as other city employees. The lower court said yes. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said no. And now it goes to the Supreme Court to decide.

Case information: 10-1018 Steve A. Filarsky v. Nicholas B. Delia

A water law attorney from Best Best & Krieger is among the top 100 lawyers in California based on the annual ranking from The Daily Journal.

According to the firm, Gregory K. Wilkinson was the only Inland attorney to make the exclusive list. There are 172,359 active attorneys in the state, according to the State Bar of California.

In the tenuous battle between preserving species at the expense of water sources in California, Wilkinson successfully argued in federal court that before the government could restrict water shipments in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to farms and sinks in order to protect a fish on the endangered species list, it would need to address the water needs of humans first, according to the firm.

The Daily Journal publishes Daily Journals in Los Angeles and San Francisco and the list is published annually as a supplement.

A resident of Redlands, Wilkinson graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 1969 and earned his law degree from UC Berkeley’s School of Law.

I unfortunately missed the most recent Riverside County Barrister’s event that might have given me a clue as to why I’ve been picked to be a juror (and later, forewoman) the last two times I’ve been summoned for jury duty.

Scott Talkov, the president of the group of young lawyers, though, summed up the advice a criminal lawyer and civil lawyer offered for picking the ideal 12 people, and a few alternates. If it’s a “broccoli case” for a prospective juror (ie: former president George H.W. Bush who didn’t have a fondness for the green roughage would be a lousy juror in a case that might involve defending or lauding the merits of the vegetable), there may be no way that person could be fair when judging the case at hand. Lawyers picking a jury should take into consideration body language and feel free to ask why a juror might have his or her arms crossed.

Other pieces of advice:

It’s better to be respected than liked by the prospective jury

Less talk more listening

Be honest during jury selection, the trial, etc. Seems obvious but a jury appreciates credibility

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